Easy as Riding a Bike
by onceuponajollyroger
Summary: Before Killian and Emma can teach their five-year-old twins to ride bikes, they first must learn themselves. Thankfully Henry is around to teach them, though their lessons go comically awry. [Captain Swan Fluff and Humor]


"What do you mean you can't ride a bike?" Killian demanded, his panicked voice echoing through the small hallway.

"Shhh, keep your voice down. No one taught me when I was younger. My foster parents didn't exactly care if I knew how to ride one," Emma said in a hushed voice. "Besides, why don't you know how?" she accused pointing a finger in her husband's direction.

"Emma, we don't exactly have bicycles in the Enchanted Forest. I told the twins we would teach them with the plan that _you_ would teach me beforehand. What are we going to do now?" Killian asked, his eyes full of worry.

Emma closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she tried to come up with a solution. She really didn't feel like explaining to their five-year-old twins that 'mommy' and 'daddy' didn't know how to ride bikes after she had droned on and on reassuring the nervous children how easy the task was.

David could teach them, though Killian would probably object to being taught by his father-in-law. Not to mention, Killian and David insisted on showing off and outdoing each other at every opportunity. Emma groaned to herself. Who else would be a good teacher?

"Mom, Killian, why are you two whispering in the dark hallway? You two look kind of creepy," Henry joked as he poked his head out of his room. Emma looked over at her tall son; he had grown so much since she'd first arrived at Storybrooke all those years ago. He was home visiting from college for his fall break and divided his time between their house and Regina's.

"Henry!" she chirped in a far too sweet voice. "Good morning, _honey_. Are you busy this afternoon?"

* * *

Ella and Liam may have been twins, but they were far from identical. Ella had her mother's beautiful, golden locks and her father's bright blue eyes. Liam inherited Killian's unruly, dark hair and his mother's emerald green eyes.

The twins looked up at their parents and older brother suspiciously as the five stood in the hallway outside of David and Mary Margaret's apartment. "Why can't we come with you?" Ella asked in a sweet, pleading voice. Killian looked down at his little princess, his eyes full of conflict, but he looked away quickly when Emma shot him a warning glare.

"Honey, we need to run some errands, so you two are going to stay here and play with Uncle Neal and your grandparents. Doesn't that sound fun?" she asked with an overenthusiastic smile.

"And," Henry tacked on, "tonight, when we're done, we can all get ice cream and watch Peter Pan. It's Killian's favorite!" he exclaimed with a devious smile as he clapped Killian on the back.

Liam and Ella both jumped for joy at their older brother's words and continued hopping around in excitement.

"Oy," Killian exclaimed as he gave Henry a playful shove. "What did I ever do to you, lad?"

They both continued to tease each other until Mary Margaret finally answered the door. "Emma," she said before she looked around to take in the whole group, "and Killian and my sweet grandkids. What are you all doing here?"

"Mom," Emma began, "Henry, Killian, and I need to take care of some…_business_. We would really appreciate it if you could watch the twins," Emma said giving Mary Margaret a sweet smile she knew her mother couldn't refuse.

Mary Margaret smiled in return. "Of course. Is it anything David can help you with?" she asked always eager to help.

"No!" Killian shouted a little too quickly before Emma changed the subject.

"No, we're just fine, Mom. We'll be back in a few hours to pick up Liam and Ella. Thank you so much," she said before giving her mother a tight hug. "Be good, kids," she added as she saw Ella and Liam rush past the adults to run off and find their Uncle Neal.

With the twins at their grandparents', Emma, Killian, and Henry all headed off to grab their bikes and head to Storybrooke's park. At Emma and Killian's insistence, the three gathered at a secluded edge of the park where they were unlikely to be seen by any of Storybrooke's denizens.

"Alright," Henry began as he pulled out a package from underneath his jacket and drew forth its contents. "Here we are. This is for you Killian, and this is for you Mom," he said as he placed handfuls of pads into each of their awaiting hands.

Emma rolled her eyes and glared at Henry. "Seriously, kid, you're making us wear elbow pads?" she asked incredulously.

Killian simply stared down at the objects in his hands, confused at their use. "What are these?" he inquired hesitantly as he held an elbow pad up by its strap.

Henry sighed. "Teaching adults to ride a bike is a bit trickier than teaching kids. You two are probably going to fall _a lot_, so I picked up some elbow and knee pads. Don't argue; just put them on…please."

Emma and Killian exchanged glances as they contemplated their situation. "Listen, love," Killian whispered, so just Emma could hear him, "we'd better listen to the boy. We don't want him telling Dave we can't ride bikes, a simple children's task," he said in a serious and somewhat embarrassed voice.

Emma frowned and nodded in agreement before she put on her padding and helped Killian with his. Finally, they strapped on their helmets and both stood beside their bikes.

"Alright, so do we just hop on then?" Killian asked staring at Henry with a questioning look in his eyes.

Henry stood in front of them, mentally preparing himself for the inevitable chaos that was about to ensue. "Alright, I want you to straddle your bikes, but keep your feet planted firmly on the ground. Place your hands on the handlebars."

Emma and Killian both did as they were instructed, though each was a bit wobbly as they placed their feet on both sides of their bikes. Henry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing, but thankfully his mother and stepfather were far too immersed in their bicycle troubles to notice his amusement.

"Great, you both look fantastic," Henry praised as he inspected both of their stances. "Now we're just going to practice balancing on the bikes and catching yourself if you start to sway to one side. Alright?" Henry began as he encouraged Emma and Killian to both take a seat on their bikes and try placing their feet on the pedals for the first time.

Killian tried first, but quickly tipped to one side and just barely got his feet to the ground in time to keep himself from falling.

Emma tried next, sitting firmly on the bike and gripping the handlebars so tightly that her knuckles started to blanch. Emma stared straight ahead for a second before she noticed her sightline started to turn. "Mom, mom, you're tipping over. Mom, catch yourself. Mom!" Henry shouted as he tried to catch his mother before she tipped over and hit the ground.

"Ow," Emma groaned as she lay beneath her bike. She dragged herself out from under it and propped it back up.

"See, this is why I got the elbow and knee pads," Henry chided. Emma sighed to herself. It was bad enough that her son had to teach her how to ride a bike, but his added scolding wasn't helping the matter.

Killian noticed her annoyance and jumped in to steal away Henry's attention. "Hey, lad, I've got this 'balancing' thing down. I'm ready for the next step. How do I just ride this blasted contraption?" Killian asked, quickly losing patience with learning step-by-step.

Henry turned back to his stepfather and explained the basic method of riding a bike. Henry gripped the handlebars and steadied the bike as Killian placed his feet on the pedals and prepared to ride. "Alright, just go slowly at first, Killian."

"Aye, I will, lad," Killian answered before shooing Henry's hand away from the bars.

Henry stepped back and stood next to his mother as the two watched Killian wobble down the sidewalk. He went a few yards before he started to sway to one side and head in the direction of some bushes and trees. "Killian, straighten the handlebars. Steer yourself back to the sidewalk," Henry yelled after his stepfather.

"Killian, honey, you're about to ride into the bushes!" Emma yelled, agitation in her voice.

"Killian! Stop the bike! Stop the bike!" Henry cried as he started to rush after Killian.

Emma looked over to see that Killian was only a few feet away from the brush, his unskilled efforts to change direction clearly not working. "Killian, just jump off the bike!" Emma called after her husband.

"Never!" he answered back. "A captain does not abandon ship," he cried just as he hit a tree and toppled over right into a group of bushes.

Emma grimaced as she saw Killian's feet stick up from behind the bush. She jumped onto her bike and decided to try and ride towards him and Henry. Emma rode with determination, and to her great satisfaction, she was doing a decent job. She nearly made it to where Henry was trying to pull Killian from a bush when she started to lose her balance.

"Ah!" Emma yelled as she started to fall over to the side. Henry whipped his head around just as his mother went crashing to the ground.

"Mom!" he yelled as he started to make his way towards her. He stopped halfway there, torn between who to help. To his left, Killian was still struggling to free himself from the confines of the bushes. His legs stuck high in the air as he tried to kick himself free. To Henry's right, Emma was groaning in pain as she slowly crawled out from beneath her bike. Her helmet was still strapped on, but had slipped to the side leaving one side of her face fully covered by the helmet.

Emma limped over to Henry and the two helped Killian to his feet. When he was finally facing them, Emma caught sight of his scratched and bruised face. "Bloody hell. These bicycle machines are lethal. Are you _sure_ children ride them?" Killian inquired skeptically as he licked his bloody lip and pulled up his fallen knee pads up from around his ankles.

Henry let out a sigh and ran his hand nervously through his hair. For a moment, he reminded Emma so much of her husband. She wondered if Henry had picked the habit up from his stepfather. "Alright you two, I have an idea. How about I teach the twins how to ride bikes tomorrow while Killian films us? Mom, you can cheer them on and just help me out."

Emma and Killian both looked disappointed at Henry's words, clearly embarrassed by their horrible attempts at bicycle riding. "And," Henry added, clearly noticing their dejected faces, "I'll be home for over a month during Winter Break. I promise by the end of it, you two will be riding bikes like pros. I won't give up until you're the best bike riders in Storybrooke," he finished with a cheery tone as he smiled at Emma and Killian.

Both perked up at his promise and nodded in agreement. "Aye that sounds like a good plan, lad," Killian agreed as a small smile formed on his scratched and battered face.

Emma shook her head in agreement while she plucked a leaf from Killian's hair. "That sounds wonderful, Henry. Thank you," she said as she grabbed Killian's hand and led him away from the park.

Henry followed behind and took in the small rip in the bottom of Killian's jeans and the black skid marks on his mother's shirt. Winter break would be here in less than two months, which meant he had less than eight weeks to acquire two suits of armor.


End file.
